country's relief efforts in haiti and called for the creation of a un reconstruction agency for more rapid disaster response. the conceit this sunday at 9:00 on c-span. -- you can see this on sunday at 9:00. >> relief effort continue in haiti. an additional airport was made available for flights bringing in aid. . .

[speaking foreign language]

>> the congressional black caucus held a news conference the day to discuss relief efforts in haiti and the steps congress has taken to respond. this is just under 40 minutes. >> let me thank everyone for being here, and we will get started because members have delegation meetings and other meetings. first, let me say on behalf of the congressional black caucus that our continued thoughts and prayers go out to the people of haiti, to the haitian american

community, to our united states citizens, and to all of those who have been affected by this catastrophe, those who have lost loved ones, who were injured, and just know the congressional black caucus historically has worked with haiti and haitian american community. many of us have traveled to the country multiple times. during the current crisis, the cbc will continue to work closely with the obama administration and outside organizations to provide whatever assistance it can to the ongoing relief and recovery efforts. also, let me thank the men and women who are responding as first responders, those from haiti, those from the international community, our own government officials, our neighbors in the caribbean, and in latin america. i want to thank them for their

immediate response, and just know that we are supporting your continued work to assist those affected by this calamity. let me conclude by saying before i ask members to come speak that today we just passed, and i am very pleased that the house of representatives passed in a bipartisan way a resolution as relates to haiti that sets forth not only our response in terms of our solidarity with the haitian people in committing ourselves to what ever it takes during the search and rescue mission, but also for a long term and sustained effort on behalf of our country to help haiti recover and rebuild. this was a resolution that was put together in a bipartisan way. i have to thank our speaker, nancy pelosi, and mr. cliburn, our whip, who is now the designated liaison on haiti from the speaker's office.

also mr. hoyer and the republican leadership for working together to put together a positive, strong, and good resolution that passed on a bipartisan basis with one no vote. let me ask congressman payne to come forward. >> thank you very much. let me begin by thanking all of you for being here, and particularly to commend our chair person, congresswoman lee for the immediate action that she took. today we stand in solidarity with the people of haiti and all those affected by the earthquake. since the earthquake, the congressional black caucus has mobilized to hold emergency meetings regarding haiti the state department, the department of defense, ngo's, and other

stakeholders in the region to get a sense of the effort on the ground, in order to take this information back to our congressional districts and our constituents. there has been tremendous activity within our congressional districts. most members have task forces and we are really moving expeditiously in making sure that information is disseminated to our people. we want to thank the information disseminated by the department of state. we have been able to hold conference calls on a regular basis to disseminate that information to our constituents and give them updates about the relief efforts. following news of the iroquois, congressional black caucus members immediately -- following news of the earthquake we organized efforts on the floor of the house. i would like to commend all the efforts of the humanitarian

response that is currently underway, and the outpouring of generosity of the american people as well as people throughout the world. the democratic republic of congo, a very impoverished country, sent $2 million to haiti. it is that generosity that will be rewarded. we will hear later from chairman rangel, who will speak on h4462 , that will make possible for it the charitable donations to apply to 2009 rather than 2010. the decision to grant temporary protected status to haitian nationals in the united states as of january 12, 2010 -- we are also pleased to hear that haitian children being adopted into the united states have become an ins priority.

we would also like to see humanitarian parole for citizens families and considered. we will hear further from that from congressman hastings. the congressional black caucus is still diligently working on gaining debt relief for haiti, and congresswoman waters will be very specific as she serves our financial-services committee and has been active in haiti for many, many years. so once again, we express our sincerest condolences to all those affected, and on behalf of the members and myself, we will continue to do what is necessary here in washington for the short term goals. we know there will have to be a long-term road map, and we are in the process now unfold in the road map as we move along, so that we can have a new haiti.

congressman hastings. >> thank you all for being here. madame chair, my compliments to you for the extraordinary efforts of you and your staff on behalf of the circumstances that we are here about. i know that all my colleagues agree that there is not an of sorrow that can be expressed for the people of haiti and all those affected by this tragic event. secretary napolitano's announcement regarding temporary protective status for haitians comes at an extremely critical time, as all of us know. it becomes important, in my view, for us to post, and i am supplying all the members of congress with that information. i complement the administration again for expeditiously handling these matters. here is where we are with

reference to temporary protective status. aliens who wish to apply for tps must file an application for temporary protected status. it is a former, and i have to say this -- is thisi821, together with an application for employment authorization, which is form i765. in accordance with applicable regulations during the registration. normally, the federal registry is where you turn and it normally takes six months. as of yesterday, it is now posted in the federal registry that haitians who are eligible, and is estimated is between 100,200 thousand that were here on january 12, those persons are now eligible today to apply for

temporary protected status. i do wish to say that the application requires a fee of $50. all of us in the congressional black caucus have requested of the administration to do everything they can to waive the employment authorization document, which carries with it a $340 application fee. we made the necessary request, and hope that will be forthcoming. it is a complicated amount of information, and as all of us that are standing here and many other members, folks are crowding our offices seeking liberation about their loved ones, this is the full set of documentation with reference to the status and the events leading up to it. i intended that all my colleagues, before the end of the day, have this information.

please note that information is key, and for the haitian community, we will do everything we can to provide you with all the information that we can. i wish to thank the international community for their efforts, and more and more, the clever to efforts on the ground are beginning -- a collaborative efforts on the ground. for the long term, we cannot lose focus on where we are and where we need to be five years from now and 10 years from now with haiti. one personal note, as congressman payne mentioned, on the republic of congo. three days ago, i sat down with benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem. the first thing he said to me was congressman, i know you are here with a heavy heart. please note that our planes are in the air. the next morning, his foreign minister took me to see their

situation room, and i expect that the same thing is happening in turkey and other areas where there is extraordinary expertise that is moving in the direction of helping the people. thank you very much, madame chair, and all my colleagues for the efforts that you and your staff have put forward on behalf of the people of haiti. >> we have been joined now by our whip, mr. cliburn, who is our leader on haiti from the leadership team, and he will now come forward. thank you again for your leadership. >> let me thank my colleagues. i know you have gone over the legislation that we are moving with, and there will be other legislative initiatives. i just want to say that speaker pelosi has asked me to coordinate the activities so that we can funnel everything from the various elements within

our caucus to the leadership table so we might have a coordinated effort in this regard. we did with katrina. we are trying to use the same model here, and i look forward to us really doing what is necessary to relieve the various issues there. i have heard from a lot of you about whether or not we are planning -- we have asked the speaker not to approve any cordels in the near future. we would like for each member of our caucus, not just the congressional black caucus, but the entire caucus, to sit down and decide how they are subcommittees' in various committees can respond to this event. then we will coordinate all that, and we will organize

efforts, rather than for all of us to go down there now as a coordinated effort. >> i would like to ask congress woman clark to come down. she has been an officer of the congressional black caucus and she hails from the caribbean american community. >> thank you for your longtime leadership and commitment to fighting for haiti. i want to also applaud your work in bringing the resolution to the floor expressing condolences to and solidarity with the people of haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. this legislation since a unified message to the haitian people that we stand with them as they

prepare to rebuild their nation. i also want to thank chairman rangel and mr. clyburn in working quickly to get the legislation passed in house that will allow individuals to donate to the haitian crisis and claim and idolize charitable deduction on their 2009 tax return -- itemized charitable deduction. my heart continues to go out to my haitian sisters and brothers as they enter through this tragedy. i also express my deepest sympathy and support for their families, many of whom lived in the 11th congressional district in new york. as we all know, it has been very hard times for families who are tracking down loved ones in the country. my office has been overwhelmed and inundated with constituent calls, earnestly trying to find

their loved ones. many of them are hoping family members are still alive and say, despite the many images of destruction they see in the media. while my office continues to assist our constituents, earnestly tried to find love one's, it is amazing to see the response of people volunteering their services and eager to help those in need. brooklyn, the haitian-american community has shown a strong united force in mobilizing services and volunteers to help their brothers and sisters in haiti. we have seen the same response across this nation and every one of our districts. churches, doctors, nurses, and concerned citizens have reached out to our offices, offering help. thanks to the assistance of the american red cross, my office was able to mobilize a group of creole translators to help with recovery efforts down in haiti, and i am proud to say that volunteers will assist and

translate for medical professionals aboard the hospital ship the usns comfort. there is an amazing sense of family in the community that can be felt across this entire nation. the one issue i have been asked to highlight is the growing concern as we continue with recovery efforts in haiti, with the most vulnerable population, the children. haiti has an estimated 380,000 children living in orphanages and group homes, and they anticipate the number will come -- become significantly higher due to the devastation brought on by the earthquake. we are beating estimates as high as over 1 million children. -- we are getting estimates as high as over 1 million children. we are announcing a humanitarian parole policy that would allow already adopted orphan children and those in the pipeline to be adopted from haiti to answer the

united states. this would ensure that these children receive the care they need as part of the u.s. government's ongoing support for international recovery efforts after last week's earthquake. according to dhs, children have been legally confirmed as orphans are eligible for into country adoption by the government of haiti and are being adopted by u.s. citizens. also, children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for into country adoption and have been matched to u.s. citizen prospective adoptive parents, while is a wonderful step forward in helping the children in haiti, we must not forget the children who have been orphaned by the earthquake and have relatives in the united states. these children are all alone in such a chaotic an unstable environment. i strongly believe that we have a moral obligation to reunite these children with their

families in the united states. it must be done -- more must be done to identify those individuals and create a pathway to their relatives in the united states. i want to thank again everyone for their diligence. the cbc in particular, for being a great resource to the haitian-a meaghan -- haitian- american community. we have made our provincpresenc. >> we have congresswomen sheila jackson lee, congressman al green, mel watt from north carolina, congressman danny davis from illinois, congresswoman yvette clark, congresswoman maxine waters.

the congressional black caucus is proud that we have 18 subcommittee chairs and for full committee chairs. much of the work on haiti will fall within the subcommittees' of many of the members of the congressional black caucus. i would like to bring forward congresswoman maxine waters, who has worked for many years on haiti. she and congressman gregory meeks and congressman al green and congressman mel watts are on the financial services committee. we have tens from members on financial-services, all focused on legislative efforts. >> i would like to thank barbara lee, the leader of the congressional black caucus, for her four sons and her wisdom in the weight -- for her foresight

and wisdom in the way she has organized the congressional black caucus. we are not just responding to haiti at this very difficult time. we have identified this as one of the ongoing issues that we must always work on. i am very proud of the members of the congressional black caucus. some are working on these issues day in and day out, and other members from new york and all over the country, texas, california, you name it, who have decided that one of the things we must always do is pay attention to the poorest country in the western hemisphere. because of this work, we have been able to respond and to leave in so many ways. don't forget, it was 2008 when this little country was hit with three or four hurricanes in three weeks.

it destroyed the agricultural land, it destroyed 23,000 homes, 83,000 properties for damaged. the roads and bridges were washed out. we went to work right away, and were able to get $100 million to help haiti after that destruction. we love haiti. many of us who have spent time there, during the bicentennial. we understand that our work must be ongoing. it will be long term, and is not just about humanitarian efforts. it is about the reconstruction of haiti. it is about the support for democracy. it is about empowering the people of haiti. we are committed to that, and under the leadership of barbara

lee, we will continue to do that kind of work. the cbc understands one of the simplest but most important things we can do to help haiti is canceling its multilateral debt. haiti cannot begin to convert -- to recover from the earthquake while continuing to make payments on debt owed to multilateral financial institutions like the imf, the world bank, and even the inter- american development bank. even before the earthquake occurred, debt payments were a tremendous burden that interfered with the ability of haiti's government to meet the needs of its people. haiti has worked very hard of the past several years to qualify for debt relief. in order to qualify, the government of haiti successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy paper under the direction of the imf and world bank, and we gave support to that.

as a result, multilateral financial institutions providing $81.2 billion in debt relief last june. nevertheless, haiti still owes a total of 640 -- $664 million to multilateral institutions, and millions to other banks. the imf offered haiti a new loan for earthquake recovery efforts. unfortunately, new loans that will add to the debt burden are not what haiti needs at this critical time. the congressional black caucus is encouraged to learn that imf management expressed concern for canceling all of haiti's debts, including the new loan.

we are also encouraged to learn that just today, the world bank also may be considering canceling haiti's debt to it. on behalf of the cbc, i am introducing legislation to require the secretary of the treasury to use the broad vote and influence of the united states within the multilateral financial institution to cancel all of haiti's remaining debt. the cbc is calling on all our colleagues to support it. canceling the debts will free up the major resources, allowing haiti to begin meeting its immediate and long-term needs. debt cancellation is critical for haiti's future and is an important components for the overall aid we can provide to the country. i close by joining my colleagues in thanking all of the early responders. i also thank president obama for coordinating the international

effort on behalf of haiti, and i am so proud of hillary clinton for her quick response, and the fact that she got on a plane, one of the army plans, i am told, and went to haiti, not only to reiterate to the haitian people that america stands with them in profound ways, but despite the fax that president preval had no -- she told him about our support, and i am just very proud that even though what we have done is not perfect, each state gets a little better. from my own state of california, our first bourbon and fire services pulled out 870-year-old -- pulled out of

70-year-old woman. we will remain there, and we will keep this on our agenda for many years to come. >> thank you very much. we will open for questions and answers, and i will ask members who have joined us today to answer the questions. in addition to members on the authorizing committee, we have several members on the appropriations committee. congressman jesse jackson is meeting with usaid administrators, talking about haiti. congressman meeks is going to hold a hearing on haiti. he will tell you about the hearing. >> i want to talk about the role that u.s. troops are currently playing in haiti. who're coming during the days,

some heavily armed. >> i am on a homeland security committee. i want to add my accolades to chairwoman barbara lee and a cross-section of members that you see here. this is a microcosm of every single member of the congressional black caucus who signed on to the resolution and yesterday's listen to ambassador joseph really tell us what are the needs and parameters of relief that we should be focusing on. the cbc has been called the conscience of the congress. i know today we stand here and say we will be the conscience of this effort, this recovery and rescue effort, and the longstanding effort you have heard of. yesterday there was a dialogue between to media persons, anderson cooper and another media person, who really spoke truth to power. the haitian people are patient.

they are non-violent, grateful, and they are in devastating conditions. they are begging for the world's support. i am gratified that the team of president obama and secretary clinton heard that. as relates to our soldiers, we are always grateful for their presence. i would suggest that their presence before logistics', managing to get supplies to doctors that are in desperate need, but the question of security, we should address again. we should look to the behavior of the haitians and working with the government and provide our support in a way that does not indicate that we are an armed camp. i think it is very important that we give credit to those who have come to provides and maybe

security, but we should recognize the haitian people. two other points i would like to make, i believe we should continue to make a were voices loud for rescue and recovery, and there should not be a date certain in the near future for ending the issue of looking to rescue. as indicated, elderly have been rescued. it is clearly important that we continue to do that, and i hope it does not end. many of us across the nation provided rescue from texas, two airplanes of doctors and nurses it came in and did 150 surgeries at 600 visits. we must continue collaborating and working on those issues. the security question is not one that we should put on the haitian people as is needed

because they are in a situation where they are violent. that is not the case, and i would hope that our armed forces would be there for safety and security. >> chairman rangel has joined us. >> we are glad that all of you have some interest. we would like to point out that this is really not a black problem, this is a human problem. the direction our country takes reflects on us as a nation of color. those who want to give and give generously will not have to wait until next year in order to get

the deduction, and they will be able to deduct on their income tax this april anything that they contribute towards haiti before march 1. in addition to that, those nations that have been given by phone, by cell phone, we will make certain that the phone bill will be sufficient evidence of the contribution. >> is the tax deduction automatic, or doesn't require legislation? >> it requires legislation that has overwhelming support in the senate. it requires legislation to allow you to deduct for last year. >> are there any plans for a congressional package -- i have

heard talk about attaching something to a supplemental bill. what are you hearing about this? >> i have talked with our chair and a meeting with eight u.s. aid administrator. we have not made those decisions are determined what it is we need to do, but we believe as members of the cbc that this will involve an investment of our resources. haiti has been neglected for many, many years, and given this latest catastrophe, i think that will warrant us to come together with a new aid package. >> on a question about the military, the united nations will be the organization that will maintain public safety. they were there already, as you know, and kept the country stable. they will remain there. they took a heavy loss, they

lost a number of troops from jordan and france. brazil had the largest number because they had the largest contingent. they will be reinforced, and they will take care of security. the u.s. military is currently dealing with the emergency. we are hoping the army corps of engineers will stay to deal with bridges and roads, deal with the whole question of the port, which is inoperable. there is a role for the army corps of engineers. one other thing we may look at is a wpa type of program that i have been thinking about, were perhaps there could be a massive employment program in hiring many people there to do rubble control.

there may be away -- there may be a way that we can create employment opportunities for the haitian people by virtue of the cleanup, with new city's being created. you have to have disposal of garbage, a whole sanitation and so forth. that is where we are thinking in terms of trying to create some wpa type of situation that could create employment as we move along. >> i am gregory meeks. we have jurisdiction over the international financial institutions, and i thank the chairman for her leadership.

this is not something new for the congressional black caucus. we are going to hold a hearing very shortly that will bring in the heads of all the international financial institutions. we can talk to them about debt forgiveness and grants going forward, but we want to also understand that we need a long- term plan. we'll be talking about creating a marshall plan for the rehabilitation of haiti. we'll talk about the infrastructure. we need all of the international institutions working with and in coordination with the usaid so that we can coordinate this in the form of a marshall plan.

that is the breath of what all of us coming together are doing. i want to thank the chair again for her work. >> this will be our final question. >> i have listened to you complaining sharply about the lack of attention to haiti over the years. the fact is, it could be hit by one or two more hurricanes even as it recovers from the earthquake. where you confident with the level of support were receiving under this presidency? >> based on the obama administration's response to this crisis, and compared to previous crises under previous administrations, i am confident that this response will be robust. it will be adequate. we are pushing forward. all of us passed earlier the resolution today, with only one no vote, that calls for a

sustained effort toward helping haiti recover and rebuild. we have to be confident and optimistic moving forward that out of this catastrophe there is a silver lining. >> what is very important is that, president clinton -- former president clinton had already been appointed to be special envoy to haiti. president clinton has been down thereo and started to look at ways by which they can get investments in haiti and create business opportunities for haitians. there is no doubt in my mind that this administration sees this as an ongoing effort. >> the secretary of state has appointed her chief of staff in

keeping us involved and engaged in the response effort at a very high official liaison to haiti for the state department. >> it goes far beyond the united states of america. haiti did not get to this condition without the help and conspiracy of european countries, and as we have allowed that to happen in our hemisphere. it is not just a question of guilt. it is having done a job and saying never again. i think it is more than just our responsibility. >> i have already been invited to a meeting with the european parliament. i will certainly be talking about haiti, to put that on the agenda with the european parliament's, which is a growing, powerful organization in europe. >> that need convey my gratitude for you being here today.

often, haiti gets off the radar after crisis. we hope you will continue to follow what takes place in haiti and keep it on the public's mind. this has been a phenomenal response to the needs of the haitian people, and we want to make sure of that response is sustained. the media will be very important in that effort. thank you again. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> wednesday, president obama delivers his first state of the

union address to congress, laying out his vision for the future of the country, and his plan to deal with issues such as unemployment, health care, and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. our coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. you can also listen to the address live on your iphone with the c-span radio app. >> this weekend on "book tv," the attack -- the chance of a terrorist attack on the u.s. is smaller than you think. also, look at the impact of the automobile on modern society. fund the entire schedule at booktv.org and get the latest updates on twitter. >> the associated press writes about a far reaching proposal on

the biggest banks. austan goolsbee was today at the briefing to talk about the proposal. >> austan goolsbee is here, so why don't we take questions if you have questions on the president's's proposal today that he can help us with. >> let's start with what the banks are saying about this. they say it is sending that industry back to the 1930's, going back to all regulations. >> clearly, first, it is not returning to glass-steagall. this is about reining in them doing investments with the backing, support, or other types

of guarantees given by the american taxpayer. that would apply to owning hedge funds, on in private equity funds and proprietary trading that is not for any client related business. it is clearly not nearly as far as glass-steagall, it is something quite different. >> what about the assertion of it putting them added disadvantage with banks that do not have to pay similar limits overseas? >> there is a question and all of our regulatory apparatus. we want to do this in coordination with our allies. you have seen england moving in similar directions and a small number of firms that this will apply to. these rules would be applied to foreign subsidiaries in the u.s. >> this is a proposal to stabilize the financial system, to put that system -- to remove

some of the excessive risk taking and put it on a firmer foundation for shareholders and all americans. we think that what this will do long-term has many benefits. >> what are the realistic chances of this actually becoming law? some believe this is more about adding to the president's new strategy and beating up on wall street, that is more for sound and fury than any chance of getting it passed. >> financial reform is making its way through congress. the president believes that that proposal to lay down new rules of the road will be an important aspect of our agenda this next year. we cannot continue to operate in an atmosphere that does not set new rules and regulations for how our financial system operates, so that we get into the same kind of situation we

found ourselves in in september 2008. again, i think this is a common- sense proposals to ensure the stability of the financial system. >> is there a realistic hope of bipartisan support on this? >> i certainly would hope so. the economic team will talk to members of congress, particularly on the committee's where they have to deal with this kind of legislation. >> and that part of the proposal, i would also highlight the root -- support of paul volcker, nicholas brady calling for similar thing, john reed, the former ceo of citibank -- this has not been a partisan

issue. it is more of a good policy in the view of the president. >> when the administration released its broad proposals for regulatory reform last june, this was not part of the proposal. i am just wondering what happened between then and now takashi to bring this up. -- to cause you to bring this up. >> the issue of excessive risk- taking by financial institutions is totally central to the white paper that we released in june. it is central to the house bill, which specifically authorizes regulators to be able to do exactly this type of regulation on scope, on a scale, and the size of institutions. over the course of the last year, certainly paul volcker and member of the economic recovery advisory board have been in frequent and constant contact with the economic team.

in the fall, the president thought about these issues quite a lot. another factor has been, you saw coming out of the rescue, the government provided a safety net to financial institutions that they use, and they have in recent months started making considerable profits of their proprietary trading for themselves, not for their clients. that is certainly a factor in convincing a lot of people we have to make sure that issues like that are not going to be pervasive going forward. >> why does the president take -- why did he not take this action six or eight months ago when there was anger about the bonuses that those on wall street were getting? some of his greatest allies were saying do something now. now it looks like a question of political expediency. >> i am here only to talk about

the policy matter of this. we have been thinking about this azinger. tim and larry and the rest of the economic team have been in constant contact with chairman volcker and other experts. as you have seen, these issues or central indy regulatory white paper that was put out they grow naturally out of things that are in the house bill, and i think you have seen this in the actions of these banks. >> these are issues that have been discussed for months here. the notion somehow -- financial reform is going through the process. we do not have anything for the president to sign. this is still a very active legislative issue. not having proposed it six to eight months ago, obviously we

are still dealing with the issue of regulatory reform. that continues, and this is part of that proposal. >> the dow dropped 200 points after the announcement, led by bank stocks. i am wondering how you walk the not wanting to alienate those who create jobs. >> as we have discussed in here , based on different proposals, i am not going to comment on the individual daily fluctuations of the stock market or the fluctuations daily of stocks and the factors that might or might not drive them. this is a proposal to add some stability to our financial system, to help shareholders, to help taxpayers, to help all of those involved provide that long-term financial stability.

what the market does in reaction one day or the next is not for me to comment on. but the president is focused on as part of financial reform is a series of rules of the road going forward that provide the stability in our financial system that we lacked only a few years ago. >> the question about the timing and that it was not included in the proposal six months ago, the underlying hypothesis is that scott brown was elected on tuesday. there are a lot of angry voters out there. you mention regulatory reform as one of the things you would talk about. bulger has been talking about this for months if not years, but was it recently -- was hastily added to the schedule? >> we have been in meetings about this dating back several

months. the president had a fairly conclusive conversation, moving forward on this before he left for christmas. it is obviously a complex proposal, and we wanted to get that part of it right. this is not something that was done as a result of anything that has happened this week. this proposal is a result of what has happened over the course of many years, and allowing the rules of the road to be gained in favor of the type of firms whose actions we seek to limit today. >> when president clinton took office, the largest bank in the u.s. was like 22 in the world. what prevents the larger

financial firms in the u.s. from once again becoming not competitive with the international financial market? >> remember, this is not going back to glass-steagall. the second part of the two proposals outlined today, one was about what risky activities banks would be able to do for their own accounts, and the second was about limiting the way the fdic currently limits deposits, where no one bank can be so large that it exceeds their national deposit threshold, that we would expand and build on that tour broader definition of liabilities. we have seen from this crisis, you do not want to be in a circumstance in which all of the power and size is concentrated in a small number of institutions. i think that is logical. i do not believe that either the

broad regulatory effort the president has described or these to individual components within it will make u.s. financial institutions and competitive in world financial market. far from it, we saw in this crisis, not to have sensible rules of the road ultimately deeply undermined public trust in the capital markets, and really present the collapse of all the big financial institutions. >> what is differ about what the president is proposing and what senators mccain and camp wrote? >> it is literally going back to glass-steagall. this is not that. this says a bank cannot own a hedge fund canada it is, cannot own a private equity fund with dual trading for its own account that is not related to its

client business. we want to get back to the fundamental nature of the bank, which is serving its clients, rather than investing for its own profit. it is quite substantially different, and it grows out of what is in the house bill and what is in the regulatory white paper on page 32. central to it is the notion of limiting risky institutions. next is proprietary trading with customer benefits still allowed? >> yes, if it is client base, it would be able to do trading or other functions as a bank, as long as it was for a client. >> the president mentioned the volcker rule.

mr. volcker has been an advocate of this for a long, long time. why did you just seemingly decide to listen now? >> as we outlined, this is not a brand new issue. it is true that volcker talked to the president about issues like this as far back as the financial regulatory speech that then president canceled -- a presidential candidate gave. >> the first time the president talked about a looming financial collapse was the speech around labor day of 2007 at the nasdaq on wall street. i remember that. i remember a lot of people being worried about a lot of other issues at the time, and people not paying attention to the then presidential candidate

illuminating in the looming housing crisis, and other problems he expanded on at cooper union in march. some of which we saw come to fruition in september of 2008. >> back to mr. volcker. the idea has now been embraced -- >> you saw chairman volcker their at the meeting. as i tried to outline, the ideas of reducing risk activities, protecting the system as part of a broader regulatory reform -- to be to fail is quite central to the white paper. it was authorized in the house bill that they could consider these things, and when you add on top of that that we have seen a microcosm as they come out of this rescue, the american

taxpayer provided safety net and support. we have seen some of these financial institutions, using the cheap way they can get because of that safety net, to do proprietary trading for their own profit, not for any client. we have been talking to chairman volcker all along, secretary geithner, director summers, and the economic team. we have been talking with him and members of the economic recovery advisory board for the entire year, but the whole economic team is quite involved. >> in addition to the political angle, there is also the economic angle to the why now question. a lot of people are saying there are simpler ways to do this. by doing this now, in addition

to the fees and all the other things that seem to be punitive in nature, your dampening what is now a very tenuous economic situation, just when growth is beginning. >> i disagree. this is not punitive in any way. this is done because we believe it will contribute to the soundness of the financial system and the economy. as robert said, in the long run, ultimately we must get to that point where people can trust the capital markets and the financial system, or else it cannot succeed. in this circumstance, it is clear, and we have said in the outline of the policy, that with all of our regulatory reform efforts, there would be a transition so that everyone can adjust to what the rules of the road are. these -- the fundamental argument, that is perfectly in keeping with both the white paper and house bills, that we want to try to get banks back to

the core function of relating to clients, and not taking excess of risky activities in the financial system. >> whether it is the proposal to paid taxpayers' back money that was lent to financial institutions and stabilize the financial system, both of these are things the president has thought about for quite a long time. . .

>> i have not heard that from them before. the proposals of the president makes are to put our economy back on a firm foundation, but to ensure that we never face the crisis that we did in september of 2008 and that we never have to take actions against -- take the actions that taxpayers did in october of to decimate and loaning hundreds of billions of dollars to cover risky loans. that is what the president's -- a good portion of the latter part of that campaign, the last two months, we spent talking about these issues almost every day. has president obama ruled out just telling the banks no more bailouts on my watch >>

there is not a technical answer to that question. that is absolutely what is behind the regulatory effort to end to big to fail. if you are in a circumstance where you have adopted the program that we are putting forward so there is note too big to fail consumers are protected ,, when you have that, when they mess up, they die. >> you are creating a condition where that does not enter into the equation. we did not get to this point because of something that did not result in their actions causing, right? making a series of risky housing loans, packaging them into securities, selling those securities, cutting those securities up hundreds of ways

and selling those in order to make money ultimately causes a tremendous bubble that bursts, resulting in a financial crisis that taxpayers then have to come fix. if you remove the front end of that equation, you never get to the back and. that is why the foundation of stability is important for our long-term economic growth. it will help our economy and it will help taxpayers and shareholders to have confidence in the system that they can invest in and they know that as a result of greedy risk-taking that is excessive is not going to cause somebody to -- sitting in this area to watch their housing value plummet by some significant percentage overnight not because of anything they did but because of some risky investments that were made hundreds of miles away. >> and as a member of the economic team, let me just say how proud i am of robert gibbs

for his financial analysis on that one. >> will there not always be a moral hazard hanging over the system unless a president says no more bailouts? >> that is the point of the regulatory reform that we have outlined is exactly to get away from that. in the sub-proposal that we're putting out today, with these two components, it is precisely to get at the function that because there are explicit government supports for commercial banks, they should not be able to use that to turn around and invest for their own profit. they should be doing things to facilitate their client business or serve the clients in some way, that it should not just be for their own profits. >> the best way to ensure that we never get to that point is to ensure that the senate and house pass very, very strong comprehensive financial reform. if that passes in the president is able to sign it, then we go a long way to ensuring that we

never have that conversation again. >> i think in passing about hedge funds. could you elaborate a bit more? can you talk about what you're doing about these dark pools, all the money that is largely not regulated and i did not think you are really touching upon? people have blamed that for a big part of the credit crisis. >> let us take that in three parts. in this proposal what it's saying about hedge funds is that commercial banks cannot own or invest in hedge funds, private equity funds, because this is frequently, a, putting them in direct conflict with their clients and if they are the owners in these funds, if they do well they are themselves profiting when they are able to attract a low cost of capital partly because the government is giving them support. so that is the relevance on this. on hedge funds in general, one key point in our regulatory white paper, and that is coming out of the house bill that we

hoped to be passed in the senate, is the function that is you get too big -- as the start to get big enough to menace the system, that there be controls on liquidity, on capital, for the institutions but also for the types of products, if it's over-the-counter derivatives, which you have fears risk of contagion that could bring down the system, the impact half -- where they can no longer menace the system. i think we are addressing the fundamental and systemic risks associated with hedge funds, derivatives, and some others. >> hedge funds to not have the kind of regulation that even closely approaches regulation for commercial banks. yes and no. under our proposal, thousands of hedge funds have failed over the years with no impact on the rest

of the system. if they messed up they die and that is the end. they do not receive any bailout. the point is for any institution that is too big to fail or that poses a systemic risk, our regulatory white paper is about how to limit that, eliminate the systemic risk, put in tight capital liquidity requirements on the institutions, so that they can fail if they mess up. >> you said excessive risk- taking. how does the u.s. government define excessive? is that sort of like pornography? you know it when you see it? >> we will be working with the regulators. it is nothing like pornography. and i will say in this proposal today that builds on the wider themes of the white paper, it is defined as owning or investing in a hedge fund, owning or investing in private equity or doing proprietary trading that is not related to client activity that is just for your

own company's account. >> what about fannie and freddie? correct me if i'm wrong but i have not heard the president mention them in any of these discussions. why is that? you think they were part of the problem? >> i do not think it is not accurate to say they have not been mentioned in the regulatory white paper. they're going to convene to look at the broader mortgage market as a whole which includes freddie and fannie and think about a broad expanse of things and what we do in the mortgage market. it could not mentioned today because it does not -- it is not a commercial bank and in this circumstance. >> have you come up with any proposal since that white paper? >> i do not have any comment on the specifics of that. >> you have taken pains to this point to say this is not reimposition of glass-steagall.

one not go for the whole? >> the spirit of this, which is separating risky activities from banks, which is trying to eliminate some conflicts of interest and which is about trying to limit the amount of subsidy or backing from the american taxpayer that's getting translated into their bottom- line profits, half those are themes that people were trying to address back in the depression when they passed glass-steagall. but the specifics of glass- steagall, which were created in 1934, underwriting securities and trading in securities are no longer in the current financial system the things that pose the greatest risk. i do not think that if you reimposed glass-steagall in its entirety, you would put some very severe restrictions that would put them in a difficult spot. the point is in the current financial system where financial institutions are broadly

defined, we want to eliminate conflicts of interest where we can, we want to eliminate these cross-subsidies or heads i win, tails the taxpayer loses. we are not going back to the 1934 rule because on a technical level i think it is not really central on that. >> the president called on banks to be cooperative, supporting financial regulatory reform. he is calling on the banks to increase lending to small business. at the same time over the past few weeks the president has increased his rhetoric against banks, calling them greedy and posing what some banks may feel as unfair burdens upon them, punishing them, essentially. how you get them to cooperate and support these proposals when some of the things the president has proposed over the past few weeks, they might not few that favorably? >> i wish that they would take a broader expansive view of

financial markets. i wish back in september of 2007, as robert talked about, the speech of the president gave at the nasdaq, the president said it does not make you anti capital markets to be for robust oversight of financial markets because we fundamentally need public trust in our financial institutions for them to succeed. if we do not have it, the capital markets will fail. and that is exactly what happened in the crisis. people could not trust what is on balance sheets, they can trust the numbers that they are getting. i think if the financial sector takes a step back and looks of the unbelievable amount of direct and indirect public support that they received, not because the administration wanted to help banks but because we wanted to prevent the next great depression, i think paying back what the losses are in the tarp is not a punitive measure that is in the legislation and

it's totally reasonable. and trying to eliminate conflicts of interest and trying to eliminate the situations where government taxpayer supports or guarantees is going for them making profits for themselves, that in the long run it is in their interest because it restores public trust to financial institutions and i hope they will bear that in mind. >> following up on that, do you anticipate a major fight on this? and how would you compare that to the opposition you are going to get on this? the republicans already have said that this would add too much uncertainty and they are against it. eric cantor put out a statement i think before the president finished speaking saying that he was against this. my question is, have you talked to republicans on the hill already or the institutions themselves to get a sense whether you can sell any of this

to them or rather rigid or whether it they will just come out lock stock and barrel against it? >> i am not it legislative strategist. i am just a policy guy. this is in no way a strictly partisan issue on policy grounds. you go through the examples of those that believe this is in the long-term financial interest of the country. i think supporting this demonstrates that clarity. i would say that you heard the president discuss that there is a massive lobbying effort to derail or water down financial reform. i think it is very clear that

many of the circumstances that existed two years ago are still possibilities in our financial system. we have to do all that we can and the president will ensure that we do all we can to change those rules of the road going forward. i do not doubt that there will be some that oppose this. there will be some in the financial community who will. there will be some on capitol hill that will. but putting a measure of stability back into our financial system -- building on what mark said, if we want to go back to the type of bailouts that congress approved in october of 2008, then let's keep the rules of the road the same. but if we want to take that step forward and ensure that the taxpayers and shareholders and

our economy is protected from that excessive risk-taking, then let's get a new road map for those rules. >> are you anticipating and preparing for a major political battle on this as well as -- >> i do not doubt that. this happened before we broke for christmas, that when some of these activities were being voted on, that scores of lobbyists were called to capitol hill to generate activity in opposition to financial reform. i have not sensed a retrenchment by those lobbyists on this issue and i think that special interests, in order to protect the good that they have, will do all they can to derail what is good for the american economy. >> just following on that, the president does have personal relationships with some of these top bankers. he has met with them. did he call them and speak to

them to give them a heads up that this was coming? >> not that i am aware of. >> did you calculate it would be better to just pick a fight? >> we calculated it was better to ensure that we had different rules of the road. it was that we turn a corner away from the type of excessive risk-taking that got us into having to ask the taxpayers to loan banks hundreds of billions of dollars. >> but just pursuant to this question, what is now not been better to try to get some of buy and from the institutions themselves where did you just figure that would not going to happen? >> i will let them decide where they come down on this proposal. that is for them to decide. the president has talked to them in the several meetings that he has about getting on board on financial reform. they're going to have to decide, lobbyists are going to have to decide, congress is going to have to decide, but the

president has confirmed that with to change the rules of the road going forward. >> has the president concluded as a result of those meetings that the banks are not on board in much the same way that you concluded earlier this year that on health care bridge a lick -- on health care republicans were not on board? >> i think we concluded that republicans were not on board based on the statements the% that the were not on board. >> i have not seen whether or not some had said it or not they are on board. i am not sure the analogy is as clear as you drew. >> on one policy matter, there are some 8000 banks in the united states in the vast majority of those banks do not engage in proprietary trading that is not quite-related. >> i spoke with your buddy james

galbraith last month and he sends his greetings, the economist, and of course we talked about the economy. he says it is going to be about 250,000 to 300,000 jobs for the next 60 months, five years, before the economy that's back to full employment. i am curious what your response to that in relation to what larry summers said about the recession ending. >> jimmy galbraith is a friend and i have known him for a long time. i have tried to stay out of the prediction business. i know that the president has been putting tremendous focus on job creation. robert knows that. every day we're thinking about those issues. he does not believe that a 10% unemployment rate is acceptable. he called for a jobs package and we are going to keep pressing as hard as we can on those jobs

issues. >> i am not good at math, that is why i am here. but i do not think to under 50,000 jobs for 60 months, i think that is greatly in excess of the number of jobs that have been lost over the course of the recession and that may actually include even a greater number of those. there are 15 million. exactly that are traditionally underemployed. >> the number of unemployed. >> he did get that calculation correct. >> he was working on it for 10 minutes. >> that was completely unnecessary. >> i am going to get that guy. >> one last question. >> what is the presidential message to the small businesses today? they are still expecting that

the president will be rescuing them because there are small and more job creators. >> you heard the president say this repeatedly. the economic team is continuing to work on ways to improve primarily the flow of capital and lending to small businesses. i think you will hear the president talk about that in the state of the union address. goyal, as he said, -- as you said, we know that hiring is the week to take place in a lot of different firms when it comes back but the primary job creator is small business. we have to continue to create an atmosphere through different proposals but the president has laid out to create that environment for private sector hiring. that is what the president has worked on and what he will continue to work on throughout -- >> health care bill is too weak to come out because they are expecting more jobs or more hiring -- >> well, look.

the president has heard from many of them, small businesses, that are being crushed by health care costs that increase each and every day. one more and then will let austan get back to doing my math problems. the follow-up on some of sheryl's questions. did secretary geithner meet with some of the bankers last night? >> i do not know the answer to that but we can have somebody find out. >> the policy team, we talk to and have talked to over the last year everyone, heads of banks, heads of consumer organizations, consumers, lenders, small businesses, everybody. >> but i made last night as a heads up. >> i do not know. i would not result -- i would not involved. >> i think the last sign-off, if i am not mistaken, was before christmas. we talked about this event i think a week and a half ago. >> and you were going to

actually put it in the state of the union initially and move could? was it always going to be a separate -- >> i am sure the president will highlight this in the state of the union but the event logistically got scheduled probably a week or a week and half ago. >> thank you. >> can we come back to health care and talk about nancy pelosi -- >> is that it what you would like to talk about next. >> nancy pelosi is now saying that she does not have the votes to take the senate bill and run it to the house. are you looking at a long drawn- out period of negotiating a scaled-down package? >> the president obviously knew from the beginning of this that finding a solution to a very complex problem would be a challenging one. it is a very complex issue. the president has heard from millions of those -- or has heard from those that represent

millions, small business owners better dealing with the skyrocketing costs, families they're dealing with premium increases, dealing with preexisting conditions, conditions, quite frankly, that are only getting worse. he's seen both before he was elected and after what health care costs do to the financial budget. lots of hard work has gone into getting us to this point. lots of hard work has gone into getting a bill to the house and through the senate. many hours have been sent -- have been spent trying to merge those small differences together. tuesday resulted in a new political circumstances. the president believes that the speaker and majority leader are doing the right thing in giving

this some time and figuring out the best way forward. we welcome the input, as i talked about yesterday, from members of congress from any political party that are serious about dealing with, as the president has been, and as republicans and democrats have been in the committee process and the house and in the senate, who are focused on dealing with those issues. as the majority leader and the speaker look for the best way forward, the president's has and continues to have a very full plate. financial reform was something he talked about. getting our economy back on that firmer foundation. dealing with iraq and afghanistan. the problems of terror. there is plenty of work for the president to do in the time

being. >> does that mean health care is on the back burner when he works on those other issues? with a repeat simply that the president believes it is the exact right thing to do by giving this some time, by letting the dust settle, if you will, and looking for the best path forward. understand this. families dealing with this, a small businesses dealing with skyrocketing health care costs, insurance companies that bull cover people because of preexisting conditions, as a result of economic conditions people losing their health care. that problem existed two years ago put it existed one year ago. it existed yesterday. if we do not do anything, it will only get worse in the days to come. >> didn't you tell us yesterday that in an election year, time is working against you? >> the political process works against any solution. when insurance companies invest

millions and millions and millions of dollars in advertisements to stop something from happening, that works against you, too. the president believes it is the right thing to do to let the dust settle and give those on capitol hill some time to search for the best path forward. >> i want to go back to the broader " -- broader message of the massachusetts election. the tone of your comments yesterday seemed to suggest that you were absorbing the message from that and that there was anger and frustration. but does that mean that there's any kind of regrouping going on, any kind of change in the agenda, or is there a feeling that the agenda is perfectly fine as it is but it's just a matter of communicating it better? >> this is not a cool hand luke problem. it took a while. help me out. failure to communicate. >> i have no idea what he meant. >> thank you, david. it did you like 10 --

>> i thought you were eating hard boiled eggs -- >> it took you 10 minutes to get that joke. >> i think the president will have an agenda coming out of the state of the union. i always think this year was going to be a year of implementing a recovery plan, ensuring that we had, as i talked about a minute ago, an environment that the private sector is creating, that the private-sector is creating and adding jobs, that we are working on things like financial reform. i do not think the message coming out of the election was to stop doing those things. a think the president knows what has been on the minds of many americans and is moving forward to answer that call. >> so he thinks his agenda perfectly matches the sentiments of the american public and that there's no chance needed as a

result? and also, you mentioned that he was going to mention the election in the state of the union, but iran has there been any rewriting or broader rewriting of the address based on it? >> mark asked me this the other day i talked about many of the policies, the drafts of the state of the union written before tuesday did not include tuesday so i cannot tell you if we add >> broader rewriting, though. >> i can check with the speechwriters but not that i am aware. >> how many drafts? >> i have no idea. >> tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of president obama saying that guantanamo will be shut down. you are not the way to make that deadline. the have any idea where the process -- when the process will be done? >> i did not know when the process will be done. i know they have made great progress on -- establishing first and foremost case files and recognitions of who indeed was still there and why.

there has been progress on that. there's been progress on issues of siting a new detention facility. the president will not meet the deadline he laid out one year ago but the president, his national security team, our generals in iraq and afghanistan, understand the support for al qaeda that guantanamo provides them in recruiting, in attracting those that seek to do us harm. to keep the american people safe, the president pledged to close guantanamo bay and people do that. >> if this he have to amend the executive order? >> i can check on that. >> for tonight is ask one more question about today's announcement? i understand that this was cast within the whole context of the financial meltdown. correct me if i am wrong that there is nothing that the

president is proposing today that will create any jobs. i mean, this isn't going to do anything to wall street other than try to prevent future disasters but it would not do anything on the job creation front. the cards this is not with the proposal was intended to do. this is about rules of the road for banks that engage, as you heard austan describe, in activities that, before so long ago, were not traditionally the purview of banks. >> do you think you need to be doing more to talk about creating jobs? >> i think the president will talk about that later today in front of the u.s. conference of mayors. >> it is over. >> he did it already. >> it is? >> all done. >> who made the decision to try abdulmutallab in federal court? was the president aware of this decision when he began being

processed in the legal system? >> the decision to try him was handed down in an indictment that i think took place many days afterward. so, yes, all the team was involved in that. >> the decision was made over a period of days. there was a time between which he was taken into custody on christmas day and a time in which the decision was made to that -- >> understand this. there was a period of time in which he was taken into custody, a period of time in which he experienced fbi agents interrogated him, received viable it intelligence from him. he was arraigned at a later period of time and that later -- and later than that he was indicted. >> who made the decision to try him in federal court? >> the believe that decision is made by the attorney general. >> from the president's tone

yesterday and your experience today -- and yours yesterday and today, i just cannot get the sense a lot of people i've talked to get the sense that you all see this election and losing the vote, 60 votes, the crushing blow that some people see it. this is a hugely decisive moment, when the president paused primary domestic priority went down. he may get something. isn't comprehensive health care reform dead? >> no. none of. >> you do not see it as a crushing blow? >> i said this on monday. the outcome of the massachusetts election was not going to stop the president from pursuing health care reform because of the reasons the president pursued health care

report reform. has the internment change to get that done? yes. >> nancy pelosi says they're not going to pass the comprehensive bill that came that close to getting passed. >> it is dead. >> i do not think that is what the speaker believes. and i did not think that is what the majority leader believes. i did not think that's what millions of americans believe. >> for the president still believes he can get something passed very similar to go yes. could the copenhagen entourage. have you been able to find anything out on the number of administrative officials. how many and the administration went and you have any idea what the cost was? >> ben is working on finding out

information for you. the president and members of his cabinet that deal with clean energy issues and creating a clean energy economy travelled to copenhagen. as many of you are aware, the president himself was on the ground less than 24 hours. we did not spend the night. a very small number of white house staff were on the ground prior to get him -- prior to him getting there. >> congress had more than 100 people there. they had more than 300 hotel nights. it took three large government planes to get them there plus a lot of other people flew commercial. this cost even enter the equation on something, and let me add to that, but there is evidence that there was a much larger contingent from the administration, more than 100. >> ben is on -- ben is working on information for you on that. i will let members of congress discuss their trouble. could you comment, do you think is a proper to spend that kind of money on having more than 200

people attend such a summit that the president so briefly attended? >> i think the president and members of congress and the devastation and the american people believe creating a clean energy economy is an important task of this administration, of creating a foundation -- of creating a foundation to create millions of jobs and put people back to work and find an agreement that's possible that enables developing and developed nations to take the steps necessary to create a framework for developed and developing nations on greenhouse gases. course it does the cost of sending people to something like that but even enter the equation? >> people that were representing the administration were there to do a job. >> could you provide that information to all of us? >> i would ask you to contact ben labolt. korff to you think the president would be upset to find out where the two injured people went at enormous taxpayer cost? >> chip, again, the minister of

representatives went to do their job. >> back on health care. you said that it is good that the speaker and majority leader are taking time to let the dust settle. how much time are you belong to give them? >> i think it is -- they have got to figure out a path forward legislatively. >> is it incumbent on them to figure that out? you have had several hours of meetings in the west wing. >> we've had meetings here to come to an even better bill that merges the house and senate product. each of them knows their chamber better than anyone else and how one gets the votes to do it. >> the reason i ask is because there is some criticism from prominent people on the left that the president again has not exercised leadership that's necessary. paul krugman in the washington times -- >> washington times, wow.

>> pardon me. are you pardoning paul or the washington times? >> i am wondering, if the criticism thus far has been the president has not stepped in in a timely way and twisted arms or whatever people want a president to do, now more than ever would be the time, would it not, for the president to show them the record? with the way forward will be determined by the president, by members of congress, by democrats and republicans that are interested in getting this done. i think lots of those conversations are ongoing about how best proceed, including involving the president. but the president said that it is time to coalesce around the core elements of the package. for what would be the non-core elements that were being discussed? >> i think there were ideas that were different in one bill, there were ideas that were different in the house bill than from the senate bill and the senate bill from the house bill, that as a result of negotiations might not ultimately come

through in a package -- >> because they were all based on a principle that the president had set forth, whether it be to cover the uninsured or keep costs at a certain level -- >> obviously those core elements, i do not have in front of me the differences in each bill and where they left off the negotiations. >> any reaction to the supreme court on campaign funds? >> is the president must statement out? >> yes. >> i am sorry. i did not see it. >> it is a lengthy opinion. he says that he will work with congress on some sort of legislation. what does he have in mind? something that does not allow unfettered access by special interests to unduly influence the electoral process. what was unwound today by the supreme court, obviously you

see what the president has said. i do not think anybody thinks that we spend too little money on political commercials and on political campaigns. certainly the solution to those problems is not to allow huge sums of money to come into the system, some of which is hard to account for. >> this you worry about this year's elections? >> i think everybody should be worried that special interest groups that have already clouded the legislative process are soon going to get involved and an even more active way in doing the same thing in electing men and women to serve in congress. >> do you call it legal corruption, lobby or special interest? >> say again? >> to you call lobbyist or legal corruption? >> i think the president did not expect -- did not accept money

from lobbyists in his campaign in does not now. " what does the president think of scott brown? when brown said he had a conversation with the president he said that president obama said he believed he was very open-minded. can you give us a sense what the president believes about scott brown? >> i would have to go back and ask the president based on what senator elect brown -- >> will they be meeting when he's in washington? >> i meant to check on that today and well. >> republicans have chosen governor bob mcdonnell to respond to the president said the union address on wednesday night. any comment on that? >> watching many of the ads that he ran in virginia that i saw on my television in alexandria, a lot of the themes looked similar to what the president ran on. we certainly look for to what he has to say. >> thank you, robert.

>> has the president made calls to members of congress on health care in the last there too? >> i would have to check on what his call list was. i have not seen it. >> is that information you are willing to share with us? >> possibly. >> he said a lot of conversations are ongoing about how best to proceed including involving the president. this is his highest order. can you give us a sense of what he is doing? >> i do not know if would you -- i did not know if you heard what i said to laura. i said i would check. give me a second to do that? >> internally i assume there are conversations and if you give us a sense of his engagement and what he's doing. " i can assure you he has spent time talking to many of the same staffers that talk to you about health care moving forward, as he has done many, many days over the past year. thank you, guys.

>> his plan to do with issues such as unemployment, health care, and the bourse in iraq and afghanistan. the state of the union address, wednesday night. our coverage starts at a clock on c-span. you can also listen to the president's address live on cease -- on your iphone. >> president obama addressed the u.s. conference of mayors on the economy and jobs. they are in washington for their annual winter meeting. this is just under 20 minutes.

ladies and gentlemen, the president and vice president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you, very much. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] >> welcome to the white house. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for being here. i spend so much time touring the country with the president at his request and with his

permission, have been an almost all of your cities. it is nice to be able to welcome you as you will come to me into your cities. thank you for how you have treated us and our staff as we have wandered through your cities. i'd look out and see some old and good and very close friends and some new friends i have made in the last year. these men and women have been incredibly cooperative with us in the recovery act and one of the aspects of the job i like the best is i spend once a week on the phone with somewhere between seven and 12 of you. we have now had the misfortune of having to listen to me answer your questions. i always get off the phone with

the guy who follows up with everything. i am not sure how well he likes the phone calls but all kidding aside, it has been incredible to work with you in implementing the recovery act. i have spoken to well over 100 of you and have visited a number of you in your cities. i have been constantly impressed by the dedication on the common cause of rebuilding not only your cities but this country. i must tell you, i have been impressed by the competence, the management skills that so many of you have demonstrated in an incredibly difficult financial times and difficult circumstances. the tudor ship of each and every one of you is the basis -- the leadership of each and every one of you is the basis on which the recovery will grow. we have plenty of work ahead of us. look at what we have already accomplished for american cities. the estimates range from two to

2.4 million jobs saved or created. tax relief has been provided to families and businesses. that money has poured back into the economy of your cities, creating more jobs. more than 18 million americans have received unemployment compensation benefits and increased benefits. imagine what the impact on your cities would be if we did not have that money flowing and those people found themselves in a destitute situation. more than 3000 public housing authorities have been aborted recovery act funding funding -- totally $1 billion, helping create jobs, retrofitting houses, improving public housing all across the country. what amazes me, mr. president, they take advantage of this difficult situation to make improvements. it is not just spending the money, they are actually

changing the way in which the money is spent put up more than 4000 law enforcement officers and 1000 communities have benefited from this additional inflow of money. we have sparked innovation and transportation, education, health care and energy. the truth of the matter -- >> [applause] [applause] a constant source of our conversations, mr. president. a great number of your recovery act projects can be described in any mayor's favored six words. ahead of schedule and under budget.

that has been the news of the recovery act. thank you all for the management breath exercised. all in all, for helping working men and women get through some very difficult times while building the economy of tomorrow. the man making all of this possible, literally, the single piston driving this entire operation of making sure that we did not walk away from our cities, from this recovery, that we take the chances we are taking to generate growth, is a man who came from a big city himself. mayor daley is sitting right here in front. the president understands your distinct needs. he knows that nothing would do around here means anything if men and women did not have jobs. not just any job, but a job you can raise a family on. a job that serves as a foundation for the 21st century

economy. he also knows that as walt whitman put it, a great city is that which has the greatest men and women. he knows your cities are filled with great men and women. his leadership as a way to help give them the ability to overcome this difficulty, summoned their greatness, and put them in a position that they are stronger at the end. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present to you the press to the of the united states of america, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you, so much. [applause] please, sit down. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> have a seat. welcome to the white house.

let me first say what an outstanding job that the vice president has done not just on a whole range of issues in this administration but in working with the mayors to make sure this recovery act works the way it should. please give joe biden a round of applause. [applause] >> a couple of other acknowledgments. i want to say congratulations to the new president, congratulations. i have to acknowledge my own mayor, mayor richard daley. [applause] >> i want to say thank you to joe riley for not only creating one of the greatest cities in

the country bloom. >[applause] >> the mayor of denver who is also running for governor of colorado. [applause] >> i have to a knowledge a great host for me and my family when weaver and honolulu. the weather was a lot better. i know you all met the first lady yesterday. [applause] >> you began an important

national discussion on the childhood obesity epidemic. i hate following my wife. she is more charming, smarter, tougher, and better looking. but i am looking forward to a productive discussion with all of you on the urgency to crate jobs to move our metropolitan areas for work. i always enjoyed meeting with mayors because they remind me of where i got my start. working with people at the local level, doing our best to make an impact on the lives of of -- of ordinary americans. that is what each of you does every single day. the things that make our cities work, our people go, transit, public safety, sanitation, parks, recreation. it was president johnson who once said that when the purchase of the president -- burdens of the presidency seemed unusually heavy, it could be worse, i could be a mayor.

[applause] >> that is why we organized this meeting today. i look at you and say i am doing fine. [laughter] >> it is not easy being a mayor. rarely if ever, has it been more difficult than it is today. your constituents are feeling the pain of the greatest economic crisis, not to mention an economy that was not working for many of them long before this crisis hit. many have lost jobs and health care. some have lost their homes. there are booking to you and all of us to regain some sense of economic security. just when they need more from you, you are stuck with falling revenues leaving you with impossible choices that keep mounting up. some of you have had the heartbreak of laying people off. each and every one of you is

100% resolved to take the city and move forward. even as we work to rescue our broader economy, we took steps to help. we cut back taxes for workers and small businesses. but we expended -- we extended unemployment benefits to those who lost their jobs. we extended aid to make sure essential services could keep running. we invested in proven strategies that you rely on to bring down crime and boost public safety. we funded and awarded more than 1800 of the energy efficiency grants that you can see. products that reduce energy use and put people back to you -- back to work and save taxpayers money.

that did more than just give them a chance to earn money, it gave them the critical chance to gain experience to build skills so they can come out of this crisis in a better position to build a livfe for themselves. wall street may be recovering. main streets have a long way to go. unemployment in your cities is far too high. because our metropolitan areas account for 90% of our economic output, they are the engines that we need to get started. last month, announced additional targets steps to spark private sector hiring by building on the tax cuts in the recovery act and increasing access to the loans they desperately need. i said we would rebuild and modernize even more transportation and communications networks across the country in addition to the infrastructure projects that are already scheduled to come on line this year. i called for the extension of

emergency relief to help people who lost their jobs. you can expect a continued, and relentless effort to create jobs for the american people. i will not rest until we have gotten there. [applause] >> i also know that each of you worry about the long-term effects the economy might have on your children, under families, and of workers. you worry about what shape everything will be in when we emerged. you are focused on facing the problems of today and tomorrow. the matter what party you belong to or from where you travel, that is the vision i share. vibrant communities that provide children with every chance to learn and grow, that allowed our businesses to use the best opportunity to innovate and succeed, to let older americans look out the best of their years in that metropolitan life

that has everything to offer. two years ago, i addressed your group and now want a new strategy to outline how washington does business with cities. since taking office, my administration has taken a hard look at that relationship from matters of infrastructure to transportation, education to energy, housing to sustainable development. my staff has travelled across the country to see what ideas you have devised. the budget that i will present next month to back up this urban fission by putting an end to throwing money at what does not work and investing responsibly in what does.

our strategy is to build economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity-rich communities that serve as the backbone for long-term growth and prosperity. three items. we will build strong regional backbone's for our economy by coordinating federal workforce development. metropolitan areas cannot stop the downtown. what is good for denver is usually good for places like a boulder. strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions. strong regions ours the central for a strong america. when it comes to development, it is time to throw out old policies that lead to pollution and sprawl and isolate our communities in the process. we need strategies that encourage smart development with quality public transportation to bring our communities together.

[applause] >> that is why we will improve our partnership by working partnershiphud, epa, and make sure when it comes to development, energy, policy, and transportation altogether. we will put people to work and help people rebuild cities, roads, trains stations and other infrastructure. we will crete neighborhoods of opportunity. many neighborhoods have been economically distressed long before this crisis hit. for as long as many of us can remember. while the underlying causes may be under -- maybe deeply rooted and complicated, access to good jobs, affordable housing, convenient transportation that connects people. quality schools and health services.

six streets and access to fresh and healthy food. -- safe streets and access to fresh and healthy food. strategies like promised neighborhoods. saturating our kids with services that offer them a better start in life. choice neighborhoods which focuses on new ideas for housing by recognizing that different communities need different solutions. we are also expanding the successful race for the top competition to improve schools and raised the bar for all of our students and local school districts that are committed to change. . .

you focus on the fixing problems with people who entrusted us with solving them. as long as i'm president, i'm committed to being your partner in that work. we will keep reaching out to you and working with you toward our common goals. i want to take some of your questions, but first i think all of these cameras will move out so that you can tell me the truth, all right? [laughter] thank you. [applause] >> a group of mayors spoke with reporters outside of the white house following their meeting with president obama. the u.s. conference of mayors is in washington for their first annual meeting. this is almost 20 minutes.

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> hello, hello. thank you. i am from minnesota and the president of the conference of mayors. we just had a wonderful meeting with the president and vice president, and we also met with secretary geithner and dr. larry summers at the white house. one of the things that we take away from this meeting is that the president's agenda moving forward for main street really is aligned with our agenda for america. we were happy to hear that he really gets that main street is

still struggling, and we appreciate that he took some bold actions to helped prevent economic catastrophe for country. as we move forward, there is still much work to do, and mr. geithner and dr. summers were very frank in their discussions. we have frank discussions with them as well. there are some issues that we have to work through, and we also know there is a jobs package. everything is about jobs. what we are here today talking about is the jobs for the people of america. our citizens, our shared constituency, and therefore we need to make sure that the target actions going forth is about jobs for our people. we need to maintain the jobs that we have, we need to create the jobs, and attract new jobs

to our metropolitan economies. so throughout our meeting, we have had the opportunity to also hear from the first lady, her initiative on childhood obesity, and we will partner with her on this movement. we will do very well, because this is an area that we have been working on in our cities for seven years in the u.s. conference of mayors. we have also had the opportunity to talk with nine cabinet members, very frank discussions. our meeting was set up in a very different way this time so that we could have a dialogue rather than a monologue. it has been very fruitful and very frank discussions. it with that, i would like to make sure that you hear from and introduce the mayors who are standing here with me at this

press conference. and i will go first with our past president. >> thank you. i am joe reilly, the mayor of charleston, south carolina. we had an excellent meeting with president obama, mr. geithner, and dr. summers. clearly this administration is in lock step. we understand our mutual goal is to bring jobs to our communities. we applaud the tremendous leadership president obama and his administration has, considering where this country was 16 months ago. they covered it an economic meltdown and have been working very hard -- day averted an economic meltdown and have been bringing jobs back. one of the initiatives is the tiger grant program, part of the american recovery and reinvestment act, $1.5 billion

available for that, $50 billion for applications received by the department of transportation. we all agree this additional funding for this program immediately creates hundreds of shovel-ready major infrastructure, innovative, collaborative projects in our communities across the country, and gives a -- and gets a huge amount of people back to work. we must remember what happened during the great depression, and the fact that after a while, there was an easing up and the economy began to falter again. president obama and his administration and the mayors are committed to making sure this does not happen this time, so we will keep our shoulders to the wheel and support additional stimulus funding for infrastructure that will create jobs. finally, economic turnabouts

like this works themselves out. not on a national level, it works at out -- it works itself out in the towns and cities. we daily are confronted with these challenges. we understand what our citizens are going through, and it was so encouraging to us to meet with the president of the united states, the vice president, the secretary of the treasury, and dr. summers, to understand we are on the same page and we look forward to this continued relationship as we work our way out of this recession and rebuild the economy of our country. >> i am mayor of the city of philadelphia. this was an incredible meeting. president barack obama demonstrated not only key leadership, but also a great capacity to listen and hear what

many mayors had to say, hundreds of mayors in the room. president obama today reaffirms his working commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with mayors all across america to create jobs and put americans back to work. >> thank you, mayor, my name is mike coleman, i am the mayor of the city of columbus. it is very clear to me that the president and this administration are perfectly aligned with the cities and regional metropolitan areas around our country. we have come a long way in over this past year, and the president understands there is still a long way yet to go. that we all understand the issues that we must face and the areas of housing, small business development and investment, and most importantly infrastructure. to create jobs and opportunities and put people back to work.

the president exchanged ideas with us today, and we are grateful for that. i am 100% relieved president and this administration is committed to working with all of us to bring back our regions and put people back to work. >> time for questions, and then we will let you break off. >> i am the past president. it two years ago, then- candidate, senator obama came and spoke with the mayors. he said something that was true then and it is true today, and it always is true. he said that cities and mayors are not the problem, they are the solution. he gets that. he knows, as we mentioned, the metro economies represent 85% of

our economy, 85% of our people. our people are hurting. we go to the stores, we go to the town conferences, the bars, the beauty shops, well, the barber shops for some of us, and we listen to our people. we go to the community and they say to us, what did you do for us when you were in washington and spoke to the president? we can say to them confidently we have a friend and the white house and he understands we have to get this money and the jobs bill, whether energy, block grants, hopefully getting money directly to the cities. the paradigm has to shift. we know that last year, 80% or more of the money went to the states, and the states used that money in a lot of other ways. the president recognizes that if we want to get jobs right now, the paradigm has to shift from 80/20 to 50/50.

the mayors want the funding, not new money but a shift of the money that is already out there. a 50% of that going to the city so we can directly get projects sitting on the shelf that are shovel-ready, willing to hire people. it was a very positive meeting, but the work still needs to be done. we will work in partnership with the president to make sure he has that message to his cabinet, which he does, and also with congress, because we need congress and the white house to recognize this can be a recession or the greatest good can be done to create jobs in our city. -- where the greatest good can be done to create jobs in our city. >> questions? [inaudible] >> i don't think it was upset.

it was disappointing they chose not to come to our annual meeting. our relationship with the white house has always been good. people make different choices. but we need to continue to work for the good of the people of america that we all serve together. >> go ahead. >> that was so long ago, nobody remembers that. we just came out of the white house. we just came out of the white house. we had an hour meeting with the president, vice president, a couple of cabinet secretaries, and we are in the middle of our conference. i think it is great that we have this great relationship with president obama and his administration and we are moving forward. >> we had the first lady with us and nine cabinet members, the secretary of the treasury, and dr. summers, and the president and vice-president. we have a good relationship, thank you. >> i have been mayor 34 years,

and we have had many private relationships with some administrations, but it has never been a close relationship, a working relationship like we have with the obama administration. it is incredible. working with them on intergovernmental affairs, conference calls with the president, the vice president, members of the cabinet on a regular basis. never been anything like it, and this is extend it to maersk their respective of their political party. -- this is extended to maersk irrespective of their political party. at the meeting today was one of genuine affection from the president and his administration, and appreciation for all of the support and assistance we have been receiving. >> i am curious, when it comes

to getting a bigger share of the recovery funding, some have said you were seeking 50%. any assurances, any indications that will happen? >> it is a heavy lift. it is a heavy lift, but if we don't work with the senate and with the administration, and the house, it is a different way of doing things in washington. so we will work very hard on it, but it is a heavy lift. >> yesterday, we had a meeting with several mayors. yesterday we had a great meeting on this with senate majority leader harry reid. with our leadership group was there. we talked collaboration, cooperation, talked about the

fact that cities are anxious to demonstrate and put people to work. we also paid a personal visit with the center of the appropriations committee. we are doing what we are supposed to do. we are strengthening our relationship with congress. at the end of the day, the cities are ready to be held accountable and put americans back to work. >> i just want to say, we're not talking about something that has not been done before. the cities get money direct, with successful programs where we have put people back to work, and our programs were we have put people back to work. those of the moneys over the last year that we have gotten direct and gone out and created jobs. we cannot say the same track record with the state money. what we are trying to do is just

let the senate, the house, the administration know if you really want to get the jobs done right, change is not easy, but you have to change the way you were doing it if you want the american people to get jobs. we have the track record, it is easy to do. the only impediment sometimes, changes tough. they say is easier to give the money to 50 states, because there are 50 of them and thousands of you. i ask, how does that work? we want to work for the american people, so we want some of the money, at least some of it, and show what we can do. >> talk about jobs and meetings with federal lawmakers on the hill, but in the recovery money, there is a closet for the federal government -- but and the clause, there is money for the federal government, is that something on the table for you

with federal lawmakers on the hill? also, let's talk about the black and brown numbers we have not been talking about. they are hired and mainstream america, 15.2% of black americans and latinos in this country. what say you, especially those of urban cities, about these numbers and minority procurement? mayor nagin, how to talk about new orleans. we want to hear about this money. >> obviously, the numbers are bad for all americans. the numbers are bad for all americans, and we know and there

was discussion in any number of these meetings about the exceedingly high rates in african-american, latino, and other communities of color. they are all americans. we want to put americans back to work, black, white, brown, and the other color under god's rainbow. we want americans back to work. whether it is supporting small business, ownership, summer jobs programs, there are any number of ways. all of these are designed put americans back to work, regardless of what color you are, and representing the city of philadelphia, i know and understand there is extra special effort that has to take place in many communities of our city. when we get the money, we get the job done, that is the bottom line. >> mayor nagin? yes, thank you. >> what is the question again, i

am sorry. how is new orleans doing? new orleans is coming along in its recovery. we continue to make progress every day. we have over 80% of our population back. our economy is in pretty decent shape, but we still have many struggles. our hospitals are not fully operational. the mental health issues as it relates to african-americans from hurricane katrina continue to manifest themselves and attempted suicides. the suicide numbers are absolutely off the chart. we still have a long way to go, but we are headed in the right direction. that brings me to what is happening in haiti. i am very, if concerned about what is happening in haiti. we have reached out to the haitian people.

i have personally offered whatever support i have. but it strikes me as being nearly similar with the haitian people are going through and what i experienced after hurricane katrina, and i am still very concerned that not only is our nation not prepared for catastrophe, but the whole world seems to be struggling with dealing with this catastrophe. the u.s. conference of mayors will hopefully be passing a resolution later today that will put forward substantial revisions and modifications in its aftermath to deal with this particular issue and set up a catastrophic designation and other things that we need. if another catastrophe like the trita happens in our country, i am not sure we are ready for it -- if another catastrophe like hurricane katrina happens in our country, i am not sure we are ready for it because we have not made those changes. >> in about 10 minutes, we plan to go live to the boston state

house for governor deval patrick's state of the commonwealth address. in the meantime, president barack obama stepped up his campaign against wall street today. the associated press says it is tougher regulation of the biggest banks. the president said the government should have the ability to limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions. here is the president on that proposal, while we wait for governor deval patrick's speech. >> good morning, everybody. i just had a very productive meeting with two members of my economic advisory board, paul

volcker, out of the federal reserve board, and built donnell, previously the head of the sec. i appreciate the council of these leaders and the board that they have offered as we have dealt with a broader array of economic challenges. the past two years, more than 7 million americans have lost their jobs in the deepest recession our country has known in generations. rarely does a day go by that i did not hear from people who are hurting, and every day we are working to get our economy back on track and put america back to work. even as we did our way out of the steeple, it is important -- even as we dig out of this people, it is important did not lose sight of what led us to this. this began as a financial crisis with banks and financial institutions taking huge, reckless risks. when the dust settles and this binge of irresponsibility was over, several of the world's

oldest and largest financial institutions had collapsed or were on the verge of doing so. markets plummeted, credit dried up, jobs were vanishing by hundreds of thousands each month. we were on the press this -- we were on the principles of the second great depression. to avoid this calamity, the american people who were already struggling, were forced to rescue financial firms facing crises largely of their own creation. that rescue, undertaken by the previous administration, was deeply offensive, but it was a necessary thing to do and it succeeded in stabilizing that and averting recession. we have recovered most of what the federal government provided to banks. last week, i proposed a fee to be paid by the largest financial firms in order to recover every last dime. but that is not all we have to do. we have to enact common-sense

reforms that will protect american taxpayers and the american economy from future crises as well. while the financial system is stronger today than it was one year ago, it is still operating under the same rules that led to its near collapse. these are rules that allow firms to act contrary to the interest of customers, to conceal their exposure to debt through financial -- complex financial dealings, will making speculative investment, and to take on risks so fast that they pose threats to the entire system. that is why we are seeking reform, to protect consumers. we intend to close loopholes that allow big financial firms to trade it risky financial products like credit default swaps and other derivatives without oversight, to identify system-wide risks that could cause a meltdown, to strengthen capital and liquidity requirements to make the system more stable, and ensure that the failure of any large firm does

not take the entire economy down with it. never again will the american taxpayer be held hostage by a bank that is too big to fail. limits on the risks of major financial firms can take are essential to the reforms i have proposed. they are central to the legislation that is passed -- that has passed the house under the leadership of chairman barney frank and we are working to pass in the senate under the leadership of chairman chris dodd. today i am proposing to be zero additional reforms i think will strengthen the financial system will prevent future crises. first, we should no longer allow banks to stray too far from their central mission of serving their customers. in recent years, too many financial firms have put taxpayer money at risk by operating hedge funds and private equity funds and making riskier investments for quick reward. they have taken these risk while benefiting from special financial privileges that are reserved only for banks. our government provides deposit

insurance and other safeguards and guarantees to firms that operate banks. we do so because a stable and reliable banking system must sustain growth and because we learn how dangerous the failure of that system can be during the great depression. but these privileges were not created so that banks could operate hedge funds are private equity funds with an unfair advantage. when banks benefit from the safety net that taxpayers provide, which includes lower- cost caps, it is not appropriate for them to turn around and use that cheap money to trade for profit. that is especially true when this kind of trading often puts banks in direct conflict with their customers' interests. this kind of trading operations create enormous and costly risks, endangering the entire banks if things go wrong. we simply cannot expect a system in which to hedge funds for private equity firms inside of banks can place the huge, risky bet that are subsidized by

taxpayers and pose a conflict of interest. we cannot accept a system where shareholders make money on these operations if the bank wins, and taxpayers foot the bill is the bank's loose. for these reasons, i am proposing simple and common- sense reform, which we're calling the volcker rule. banks will no longer be allowed to own, and vest, or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading operations for the run profits unrelated to serving their customers. if they want to trade for profit, that is something they are free to do. doing so responsibly is a good thing for the market and the economy. but these firms should not be allowed to run these hedge funds and private equities while running a bank backed by the american people. in addition, as part of our effort to protect against future crises, i am also proposing that we provide further consolidation

-- that would prevent the further consolidation of our financial system. there has long been a deposit cap and place to guard against too much risk concentrated in a single bank. the same principle should apply to water forms of funding -- water forms of funding employed by today's economy. we cannot just have a few massive firms. that is not good for the consumer or the economy. through this policy that is an outcome we will avoid. my message to members of congress of both parties is we have to get this done. my message to leaders in the financial industry is to work with us, not against us, on needed reforms. i welcome constructive input on folks in the financial sector, but we have seen it so far in recent weeks is a army of wall street lobbyists to try to block common-sense rules of the road that would protect our economy and the american people. so these folks want a fight, it

is a fight i am ready to have. my resolve is only strengthened when i see it returns to old practices from some of the very firms fighting reform. when i see strong profits and obscene bonuses from some of the same firm to claim the cannot lend to small businesses, keep credit-card rates low, cannot afford this without passing on these to customers, those of the claims they're making, it is exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary. we have come through a terrible crisis. the american people have paid a very high price. we simply cannot return to business as usual. that is why we will ensure that wall street pays back the american people. that is why we will rein in the access and abuse that nearly brought down our financial system. that is why we're going to pass these reforms in full. thank you very much, everybody.

>> massachusetts governor deval patrick state of the state address, state of the commonwealth address expected to begin shortly critic of governor patrick is running for reelection this year, and a summary of the governor's speech shows he will fight the tough budget situation, no cuts to aid in school funding. we go live now to the state house in boston. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> the joint convention will come to water. it is my privilege to convene the joint legislative session on behalf of the people of massachusetts, on the occasion of the governors' annual state of the commonwealth address. on behalf of the legislature and as great commonwealth, i will commit to the people's chamber. it would look forward to working with you on the many challenges and decisions that lie ahead. ladies and gentlemen, governor deval patrick. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much.

thank you very much. thank you. thank you, everyone, thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you all so much. madam speaker, -- madam speaker? [laughter] all right, do-over. madam president. yes. [applause] mr. speaker. there we go. and all of the members of the house and senate, lieutenant governor, fellow constitutional officers, and members of the cabinet, to the members of the hon. judiciary, the mayor, and

other municipal leaders, distinguished guests, and above all, the people of the commonwealth of massachusetts, i want to first acknowledge and thank my first lady and yours, diane patrick. [applause] you should all know that diahann has done a marvelous work around the commonwealth on domestic violence issues, and, diane, i think people are almost as grateful to have you in their lives as i am to have you in mind. -- as i am to have you in mine.

i want you all to please join me and diane thinking the people of massachusetts who served in the united states military and their families. [applause] -- to please join us in thanking the people of massachusetts to serve in the united states military and their families. [applause] we are, everyone of us, in their debt. a special thanks to the pastor who joins us tonight for the invocation. we pray with you for the rescue of the haitian people, for comfort for family and friends here in the commonwealth, for strength for the relief workers from massachusetts who are on the ground now in haiti, and for

blessings for all of the good people of this commonwealth who have offered support. i want to commend all three candidates in the special election for a spirited campaign. thank you. [applause] and i want to congratulate united states senator-elect scott brown. [applause]

i spoke to scott on election night, and again this afternoon, and we pledged to work together, as i do with the whole delegation, on behalf of the interest of all of the people of the commonwealth. the best news, in my view, is that even on a cold day in january, for an out of cycle election, the voters came out in force engaged in a democracy. at that time when many people feel paralyzed, people remind themselves and us that they have all the power they need to make all the change they want. that is good news. three years ago, when i took the oath of office on the steps just outside this building, i describe the vision for a better, stronger commonwealth. i talked about good jobs and good wages all across the state, great schools in every neighborhood. it citizens with a renewed sense of community, where each of us

sees the stake we have in each other's dreams. i knew the challenges before us and acknowledged them. young people were leaving our state. there was no real plan for job growth. our public schools or too often failing our children. our roads and bridges were broken. a health care reform had past but had not been implemented. the culture of beacon hill, with respect, was famously resistant to outsiders and to change. we chose to confront these challenges, not because it was politically expedient or popular, and certainly not because it was easy, but because we understood the stakes that we each had in each other. because people need not big or small government for its own sake, but good government, and because confronting these challenges was the only way to

build a better, stronger commonwealth. our task was made harder by bombs along to road, some of my own making, i acknowledge. others left behind by predecessors. but most, the result of a global economic collapse that no one foresaw and few living had ever experienced. the economic meltdown produced $9 billion in budget gaps, cuts to worthy programs, and elimination of thousands of state jobs. just like in household after household, business after business, we in the state government have had to make do with less, to improvise and innovate, to work harder. because we made it personal, because we understood that a better, stronger commonwealth would lift us all up, we kept going.

the told this global economic crisis has taken on people here at home has only served to make me even more determined. i meet people every day and i see the anxiety in their faces. i hear their stories of lost jobs, lost homes, of lost retirement accounts, lost hope. i know there stress, not just for themselves but because there are still kids to be educated and parents to be cared for. i met a grandmother at the career center this month who told me about moving her son and daughter and their kids, nine of them, into her home because they are out of work and strapped for cash, and now she has lost her job. she is not asking for much. just a chance to provide for her family and a little help holding on until she could make her own way. meanwhile, like so many other citizens, she is feeling

powerless against forces beyond her control. this is not the american dream she counted on, and it is not the american dream we will accept. [applause] so for her, for every other srtiver who makes for a better, stronger commonwealth, we kept with our vision and kept going. too fast for some, not fast enough for others, learning from our mistakes as well as our triumphs, but without ever losing sight of who we are working for. so working together, we closed

at $9 billion budget gap and delivered the third consecutive budget that was responsible, balanced, and on time, which is not something that many other states can say. [applause] but we also worked to understand and address the impact that each cut would have on the people who depended on the program and deliver the service in better and more efficient ways. we made it personal. we created jobs, we leveraged our world-class universities and health care institutions, may be -- making investments in biotech and technology so people would have opportunity tomorrow. but we also went to work every day, calling individual business leaders about locating or

expanding here, working out ways to help them prosper and create jobs, 10, 50, 200 at a time, making sure that the work force was trained, and extending health care benefits to make sure families held it together in the short run. we made it personal. we did the hard work, the hard work of of amending health care reform, which nearly every man, woman, and child in the commonwealth now has reliable health insurance, and we are a model to the nation. it [applause] but because we know many families and small businesses are struggling to afford the premiums they pay, we went to work to drive down the cost, calling insurance companies and public hearings to explain why

premiums keep going up when everything else is coming down. we made it personal. in a time of dwindling state revenues, we find it public schools at the highest level in history. -- we funded public schools at the highest level in history. in the budget i proposed, we will do it again with chapter 70 next year so that no school receives less state support. [applause] but because schools need innovation as well as money in order to be great, we made history this week by signing an education reform bill that will put a great school within reach of every child in every corner of this commonwealth. we made it personal. thank you. [applause]

we did all of that and more this past year. and i want to thank you. i want to thank president marie and the speaker and each murray of the senate and house. for your willingness to work with us frequently across party lines and to tapke the tough rod that we know will make a better, stronger commonwealth. i also want to thank the members of the cabinet and your team for your creativity and tenacity, and the state workers who despite furloughs and contract concessions, and pay freezes, and increased health-care contributions go to work every day trying to do right by the people we serve. [applause]

change is never easy and rarely quick. woodrow wilson once said, if you want to make enemies, tried to change something. lord knows he was right. [laughter] but it is worth a. it is worth a. because we are together building the foundation for a better, stronger commonwealth. and don't just take my word for it, here are the facts. for the first time in 20 years, more people are moving into our state that are moving out. business confidence has improved nine of the last 10 months, which means more investments and more jobs ahead. home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, 59% in the month of november alone. all 3 national rating agencies have affirmed the state's aa

credit rating and a stable outlook for the future, expressly citing are successful management of this fiscal crisis. massachusetts is one of the few states in the country able to access the bond market to fund our student loan programs. we are first in the nation in student achievement for the third straight year, and first in the nation in health care coverage for our residents, with over 97% injured. -- 97% insufdc. [applause] -- 97% insured. we will increase in wind power tenfold and solar power 15-fold next year. in the solar industry, we have already more than doubled the

number of jobs and quadrupled the number of companies. still, people sometimes ask, what does all this mean for them. well, a good credit rating means that we could do construction projects like assembly square, the apple 10 mills. development, or the route 7 improvements, or the route 24 ramp, and on and on, projects that put people to work right now and create other jobs shortly, and improve the quality of life for years. it means people like to get a state subsidized student loan it to help grandson's pursue his dreams. that is what it means. implementing health reform well means peace of mind for people, who would not have had her breast cancer diagnosed and successfully treated. that means finding a cost- effective way to cover over

26,000 immigrants who live and work here legally and pay taxes into the system. [applause] simplifying the transportation network and abolishing the turnpike authority means we save taxpayers $250 million, and to put fare hikes off a little while while we focus on better service for commuters. holding the line on funding for schools by passing the reform bill means the kids i meet in arlington or east boston high- school or south middle school or the university park campus school, or the port and special needs kids i carry around in my heart -- or the port and special

needs kids i carry around in my heart will get a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. [applause] that me tell you what it means. investing in clean and alternative energy, life sciences, and by attack, means that iraq war veteran can -- bio-tech, means that in iraq war veteran can hire more people. i think he has 45 now. or others can go out as an energy auditor. or josh can build a center for regenerative madison and start to transform the future of human health -- regenerative madison and start to transform the future of human health.

investing in infrastructure means new bridges will be built, exit ramps and roads will be restored, broadband cable is being laid under i-91, office parks, medical parks, parking garages are all going up. investments that put people to work today and become the economic and abler -- the economic in a dollar tomorrow. -- the economic enabler tomorrow. and ending the abuse in the state pension system, tightening the ethics and lobbying rules means that people can trust that state government is focused again on their business and not personal gain. governing for people, the way your government can help you help yourselves is why we come to work every day.

by investing in people, by making it personal, we are building a better, stronger, and will for all of us. i know there is much more work to do. and i will not be satisfied until it is done. unemployment, even with the disappointing numbers released today, is not high -- not as high here as it is with the national average, but i will not be satisfied until we put all of our people back to work. [applause] more people than ever are insured, but i will not be satisfied until the cost of health insurance is lower, especially for small businesses and working families. [applause]

i will not be satisfied until sentencing reform is enacted into law and we start getting a smart on crime as we are tough. [applause] week, all of us, have worked together to give local communities new tools to cut costs and raise revenues, to regionalize more municipal services. but i will not be satisfied until we find a way to bring property taxes down. [applause] i will not be satisfied until we have reshaped and reinvented state government itself, consolidated more agencies, and brought out of them every

inefficiency. i will not be satisfied until it is finished, and neither should you. [applause] these are each of them tough issues. i know that. but you ought to know by now, friends, one and all, not to doubt my resolve or determination. i hear the detractors who fiercely or passively defend the status quo. i hear the challenger is pressing to return to old familiar ways, policies that have failed us in the past. but i also hear a public deeply frustrated with the pace of change, who need a little help from us right now so they can help themselves. our job is to be leaders for them, to stand up and make the hard decisions that are necessary to build a better,

stronger commonwealth. we must make it personal. to the people of the commonwealth, above all, especially those whose lives have been turned upside down by this economy, you were not powerless and you are not alone. if we work together and creatively, we can make a difference where it matters, not on our resumes, but in your lives. we have shown that we can do this with historic reforms already, and we must redouble our efforts. we will do our part, but you must also do your sprint -- you must also do yours. be angry, but channel lead in a positive direction. it's easy to be against things. it takes tough mindedness and the courage to be for something.

in massachusetts, at our best, we are for each other. we are about seeing our stake in our neighbor's screams and struggles as well as our own. and i know some kids to understand is especially well. the high school in brockton, mass., is the largest in our commonwealth. 4100 young people go to that school. 61% are on the free lunch program. for nearly half of them, english is a special -- english is a second language. i visited with them before hand to meet with parents of special needs students. i sat with about a dozen of these parents in a school library, is run by members of the student council who had come to observe -- surrounded by members of the student council who had come to observe. one mother asked me, governor, imagine what it is like to have

a child in school with no friends. as a parent, the comment was searing. her child's learning issues were so profound that other kids had shunned him. at that point, one of the student council members raised her hand and said, i want to your child's body. -- allan to your child's buddy. another parent had a job with similar issues, and another student raised her hand and said, why don't we have a program or high school students can be friends with special needs kids and whatever school they attend? marvelous. the school superintendent was there and had a natural reaction in need of time. he worried aloud about how in a time of scarce resources we could possibly pay for these programs. to which another student replied, we don't have to be paid. this is